YEREVAN. – According to official data, there are 28 theater companies in Armenia, and 18 of them are in capital city Yerevan.

Last year, these companies—except for two—staged 2,665 performances; that is, a daily average of seven performances.

The total number of audience exceeded 450 thousand, or an average of 180 people per performance.

Overall, 407.8 million drams (approx. $847,728) were received from the performances, or an average of around 153 thousand drams (approx. $367) per performance. It turns out that the amount of proceeds from the ticket sales for one performance accounts for less than the total average monthly nominal wage, which was 171 thousand drams (approx. $355) last year.

It is clear that theaters with such “returns” would cease to exist, but financial assistance is provided to them. Last year, 3.279 billion drams (approx. $7.9 million) were allocated to Armenia’s theater companies from the state and local budgets.